St Ciaran's College

St Ciarán's High School Ardscoil Naomh Ciarán
Location
15 Tullybryan Road, Ballygawley, Dungannon, BT70 2LY Northern Ireland
Information
Motto	‘Fortis in Fide’ (“strong in faith")
Religious affiliation(s)	Roman Catholic
Established	1966
Local authority	Education Authority (Southern)
Headmaster	Mr Paul Lavery
Gender	All
Age	11 to 18
Enrolment	600
Colour(s)
Website	https://www.stciaransballygawley.org/

St Ciaran's High School is a secondary school located in Ballygawley, Dungannon, Ireland. It is within the Education Authority (Southern) area.

Opened in 1966, the college celebrated its fiifieth anniversary in 2016/17.

In addition to some disappointing academic success the school is renowned for its better success in sport and music.

Unfortunately in June 2019, a registered sex offender was caught roaming the corridors of the Co. Tyrone school. The man in his 30's locally known as Geoffrey Kelly was a registered sex offender and had been charged with two accounts of sexuall assault in 2015 and 2016 and one charge of indecent exposure to a minor.

St ciarans was believed to have very poor safety measures in place leaving any member of the public to gain entry very easily which is a great cause of concern. A member of staff caught the sex offender roaming the corridors as he was dressed as a woman. They asked him what he was doing and he replied he was looking for a teenage girl. The staff checked her name and it appeared to be fake.

The member of staff rang the PSNI who later on arrested the sex offender on suspicion of breaking the condtions of bail granted to him on the conditions he didn't go within 25 metres of a public place where under 18s gathered.

St ciarans later said that the necessary safety measures where being put in place in a text message to all the very concerned and shooken parents of pupils who attended the school.

Principals

• Mr Colm Murphy – September 1966 to August 1967
• Mr Eugene McSorley – September 1967 to May 1996
• Mr John Clayton – May 1996 to February 2006
• Mr Aidan Taggart – March 2006 to August 2016
• Mr Paul Lavery – September 2016 – Present

Ghost Legends

Not known to many outsiders, the legend of the ghost flute has been passed down through generations of students at the school.

Every year, a new batch of geography students fall victim to the ghost flute. Legend says it can only be heard by those who have taken a geography lesson in the school, and it will haunt you for eternity if you "forget" to do the homework.

Once a year, at 3:33am on the 03/03, it is said that the ghost flute can be summoned. To do this, you must enter the school and chant "The Water Cycle Song" THREE TIMES, while making your way to the music department. You must choose a flute from the store cupboard and bring it up to the geography corridor. You must measure the distance between the geography classrooms and set the flute in the exact center point between them. You must bring offerings of lost pencils and broken rulers in the yellow pots from the back of the classrooms. Carefully place them around the flute in a circle. Finally, you must stand around the flute and recite "The Water Cycle Song" one last time, very quietly, BUT BE WARNED - once you have recited this, there is no telling what will happen next. Those who have tried to summon the flute on this night have woken up the next day, in geography class, with no memory of the flute entirely.

Some say it is just the wind, however those who have made those claims have never experienced the horror of the hauntings. They will never know the true power of the ghost flute.

References

St. Ciaran's College, Ballygawley